These 40 Stats Will Change the Way You Think About Google Apps

This past October, we published a post rounding up 47 of the most vital stats about the state of the Google Apps ecosystem. The post was one of our most shared ever and it’s clear that people operating in this space are looking for more information about the success, growth and future of Apps. Here are 40 more stats you need to know about the Google Apps Ecosystem.

The Cloud Office Market

The move to the cloud is undeniably under way, but to what extent? A company’s move to the cloud depends on various factors like organization type, size, prior investment in on-premises systems, attitude and much more. And, while many organizations have indeed moved to the cloud, it’s worth noting that the vast majority of companies are still operating in on-premises environments. This however represents a huge opportunity for cloud software providers like BetterCloud, which is able to not only serve existing cloud office users, but also grow tremendously as cloud becomes the de facto for organizations around the world.

There are two primary suppliers competing for the cloud office system business: (1) Google, with Google Apps for Business; and (2) Microsoft, with Office 365. Both Google and Microsoft sell these services through resellers as well as directly. SOURCE

There were 50 million business people provisioned in whole or part with cloud office systems capabilities at the start of 2013. Those 50 million are only 8% of the overall universe of office system users. SOURCE

The universe of office system users is huge and growing. In the enterprise space, Gartner estimates that 630 million business users are currently using office systems (or some portion thereof), and expects that number to grow to 1.158 billion by 2022 (a 6.3% compound annual growth rate [CAGR]). SOURCE

Gartner is expecting cloud office system users to constitute 33% of the enterprise universe in 2017. SOURCE

The number of cloud-provisioned office system users will grow 28.5% a year to 695 million users by 2022 (and constitute 60% of the larger user universe that will exist by then). SOURCE

Security is the biggest pain point and roadblock to cloud computing adoption (30%). Migration and integration of legacy and on-premise systems with cloud applications (18%) is second, and lack of internal process (18%) is third. SOURCE

Google Apps vs. Office 365

It’s clear that the major players in the Cloud Office market are Google Apps and Office 365, but we bet on Google Apps early on and believe the suite will win out in the end. Office 365 was late to market and is now struggling to make up for lost time. And, adding to Microsoft’s lessening prominence is Redmond’s reluctance to release mobile versions of its long-time bread-winner, Microsoft Office.

Microsoft must beat back aggressive competition from arch rival Google, which has found that the appeal of Google Apps for Business – its simplicity, economy and continuous development – is finding strong resonance in the enterprise market. For the first time in two decades, a rival has emerged that threatens Microsoft’s near total control of many segments of the enterprise market. SOURCE

Redmond’s legacy products, like Microsoft Office, continue to lose market share. 58% of Google Apps administrators say they plan to cut support or slow the use of Microsoft Office. SOURCE

Microsoft’s stagnation when it comes to releasing mobile versions of Office for iPad and iPhone contribute to the company’s diminishing market share. According to one analyst estimate, Microsoft is giving up $2.5 billion a year in revenue by keeping Office off the iPad, which has now sold almost 200 million units. SOURCE

According to research firm Ovum, 57% of all employees use a personal smartphone or tablet to access corporate data, while 70% of tablet owners use their personal tablets at work at some point. Adam Tratt, a former Office executive, said this growing BYOD trend is the true danger for Microsoft. SOURCE

Google Apps Usage

Declining use of Microsoft Office is favorable for Google Apps. Usage of the suite continues to grow and recent additions like add-ons for Google Docs and Sheets puts Google’s online collaboration tools directly in line with – or in some cases beyond the grasp of – Microsoft’s offerings. In some cases, Google Apps is even at the core of a company’s IT infrastructure.

A report released by the Cloud Alliance for Google Apps and Frost & Sullivan shows that 59% of Google Apps administrators say Google plays a key role in their organizational IT infrastructure – with another 29% saying that it is the core. SOURCE

Use of all areas of the Google Apps suite increased between 2013 to 2014, with the exception of Google Tasks, which decreased by 26%, possibly due in part to the release of Google Keep. SOURCE

Usage of Hangouts in enterprise organizations increased by 133% between 2013 and 2014. SOURCE

According to a report published by Forrester this February, companies expect they will use on average 66 different SaaS applications in 2015. SOURCE

Of 738 Google Apps administrators surveyed, 33% said that the existence of certain related apps within the Apps Marketplace helped encourage their adoption of Google Apps. And 49% reported that those applications helped convince them to move to the cloud. SOURCE

There are now more than 750 solutions offered in the Google Apps Marketplace. SOURCE

There have been over 200 million downloads of these offerings since the Marketplace’s founding in 2010. SOURCE

Impact of Services Partners on the Google Apps Ecosystem

While the Google Apps Marketplace and Chrome Web Store are becoming more crucial to the success of Google Apps, Google Apps Services Partners (formerly known as Google Apps resellers) have long played an important role in Apps’ success. Partners are building thriving companies based on reselling Google Apps and third-party applications, providing custom-built integrations, conducting extensive change management and more. And in the past year, we’ve even seen traditional technology companies, like HP and CDW, join the Partner Program.

There are now more than 10,000 partners in Google’s Reseller Program. SOURCE

56.4% of Google Apps administrators say they chose to work with a reseller because they wanted the help of a third-party with experience migrating companies to Google Apps. SOURCE

Larger organizations tend to leverage their resellers’ custom integration and application development capabilities more than smaller organizations. SOURCE

Customers of resellers are more satisfied with Google Apps than Apps customers who do not work with a reseller. SOURCE

Through 2018, the biggest inhibitor to internal CSB success will be organizational and business process challenges, not technology. SOURCE

A survey of BetterCloud customers shows that level of communication between a reseller and their customers impacts customers satisfaction with the reseller. More communication means higher satisfaction, up to a certain point. SOURCE

By 2015, increased competition will cause 20% of CSB providers to be acquired or exit the market, consolidating CSB around larger players. SOURCE

Shadow IT

Shadow IT – the existence of unapproved SaaS applications in the enterprise – isn’t really in the shadows anymore. Both end-users and IT professionals readily admit to the use of unsanctioned software, and more often than not, their motives are anything but malicious. Most perpetrators claim they install unapproved products to simply increase their productivity. But, for IT administrators not content with this explanation, there are tools like FlashPanel’s Apps Explorer to restore peace-of-mind.

More than 80% of respondents to a November 2013 Frost & Sullivan survey admit to using non-approved SaaS applications in their jobs. SOURCE

Furthermore, non-approved applications represent a sizable proportion of all SaaS apps used in a company. According to respondents from the same survey, the average company utilizes around 20 SaaS applications; of these, more than 7 are non-approved. That means you can expect that upwards of 35% of all SaaS apps in your company are purchased and used without oversight. SOURCE

IT users are even more likely than LoB (line of business) users to adopt non-approved SaaS. Furthermore, IT employees use a higher number of non-approved SaaS applications than LoB. SOURCE

Users overwhelmingly turn to non-approved apps for one reason: they need to get their jobs done. Top drivers cited by both LoB and IT respondents are related to gaining access to the right tools, fast. Nearly half of respondents indicate a comfort level with their preferred software package. Users also cite slow approval processes for new software, and inadequacies of “approved” software. SOURCE

Business productivity (e.g., word processing, spreadsheets) is the top category for unapproved applications used. Also noteworthy is that every category is poised to experience increased numbers of users willing to adopt non-approved software. Non-approved usage in categories associated with proprietary data (including HR, ERP, and financial/legal) are expected to grow at an even greater rate. SOURCE

66% of Google Apps administrators say they were willing to spend their own money on work-related apps listed in the Google Apps Marketplace. SOURCE

Chromebooks

While SaaS is prominent in businesses large and small, operating completely in the cloud is still somewhat of a foreign concept. Take Chromebooks, for example. Despite their recent dominance of the notebook market, overall traffic coming from Chrome OS is still negligible. As the devices themselves and concept of operating completely in the browser are still fairly new, it’s more helpful to look at the use of Chromebooks anecdotally. Judging by Microsoft’s reaction to the devices, we’re not the only ones who believe the Chromebook will emerge as a power player in the coming years.

Chromebooks now account for 21% of notebook computers sold in the US, according to NPD Group. SOURCE

Samsung was one of Google’s earliest partners in the Chromebook project and it currently accounts for more than 50% of all U.S. Chromebook sales. SOURCE

Two in three of the best-selling laptops on Amazon during the 2013 holiday season were Chromebooks. SOURCE

Google’s Chromebook hardware partners now include eight of the top computer makers in the world. SOURCE

Use of Chromebooks among businesses operating on the Google Apps platform has increased 88% since 2013. SOURCE

Final Thoughts

Google’s invigorated stance on the Google Apps Marketplace, the growing reseller community, and a willingness from organizations to devote significant financial resources to cloud systems bodes well for future of Google Apps.